Ah that sense of déjà vu – so wonderful at times, but so annoying otherwise. Arsene Wenger and Arsenal will be having that "Oh man not again" feeling again, after drawing -- you guessed it -- Barcelona in the last 16 of the UEFA Champions League again.
Having been at the wrong end of a few knockout ties in the past – the 2006 final, the 2009-10 quarterfinals and 2010-11 last 16 to name three -- against Barca, Arsenal will need to change that trend – solving the "how do you stop Messi, Suarez and Neymar" puzzle will be a start – if they are to finally get out of the pre-quarterfinals of the Champions League.
Arsenal vs Barcelona is not the only mouthwatering tie of the Champions League last 16, with PSG drawn against Chelsea, after the French champions beat the English Premier League champions in the same stage last season so famously, despite going down to ten men, after Zlatan Ibrahimovic was sent off. Chelsea will want revenge, while PSG will go into the tie in confident mood, considering they beat them only last season.
Real Madrid have a tricky tie against Roma, even if they will fancy their chances, while Bayern Munich and Pep Guardiola will have to hurdle over last season's finalists Juventus if they are to make it to the next round of the Champions League.
"We hoped for better luck in today's draw, but we're confident we can put in two good performances," Pavel Nedved told Juventus' official Twitter handle. "I believe our team has improved in Europe and I am confident, even though we know Bayern represent very tough opposition."
Atletico Madrid will know if they play to their potential, they should be able to see off PSV Eindhoven, while Manchester City will be thanking their we-finished-first-in-the-group-and-we-have-been-rewarded stars, after avoiding the likes of PSG and Roma to draw Dynamo Kyiv.
The other two last 16 matches are Gent vs Wolfsburg and Benfica vs Zenit St. Petersburg.
Last 16 draw and fixtures: Gent vs Wolfsburg; Roma vs Real Madrid; PSG vs Chelsea; Arsenal vs Barcelona; Juventus vs Bayern Munich; PSV Eindhoven vs Atletico Madrid; Benfica vs Zenit St. Petersburg; Dynamo Kyiv vs Manchester City.
First legs: 16 February: PSG vs Chelsea, Benfica vs Zenit St. Petersburg.
17 February: Gent vs Wolfsburg, Roma vs Real Madrid.
23 February: Arsenal vs Barcelona, Juventus vs Bayern Munich.
24 February: PSV v Atletico Madrid, Dynamo Kyiv v Manchester City.
Second legs: 8 March: Wolfsburg vs Gent, Real Madrid vs Roma.
9 March: Chelsea vs PSG, Zenit St. Petersburg v Benfica.
15 March: Atletico Madrid v PSV, Manchester City vs Dynamo Kyiv.
16 March: Barcelona vs Arsenal, Bayern vs Juventus.
